Friends Only Get So Far
by Sturnidae
Summary: Amaimon is a the King of earth. His brother is the king of time. And Shiemi? She's simply a human. A human who's his friend. (one-shot.) AmaimonxShiemi if you squint.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Exorcist. No characters are owned by me. _(_** _ **I don't get the reason of putting disclaimers in front of stories. It's called fanfiction for a reason. Everyone knows you don't own any of the characters. But whatever.)**_

 **The idea of passion is not from me. I took the idea from** **Zeitdieb** **and twisted around a bit to play a good part in my fanfiction. Go and read her story, the Puppeteer.**

* * *

The Garden of Amahara wasn't beautiful. It wasn't pretty and heck, it wasn't even remotely nice.

It was _gorgeous._

Think of the prettiest fields. Now think of the nicest flower. While you're at it, think of a beautiful garden.

Put those all together and you get one small fraction of Amahara's actual beauty. Because in reality, your little puny human imagination of some organized plants was nothing compared to the beauty of this garden.

Even as I attempt to explain it, I still couldn't point out it's actual worth, and you couldn't even come up with a good picture of it. Don't feel bad reader, every human was the same.

This is exactly why no human was ever allowed in Amaimon's Garden. Amaimon had several reasons.

For one, humans were weak and puny. Why should such a revolting creature even look at his garden? What did they have to offer in return? Nothing! For the King of Earth was all giving! He let their stupid crops grow, and he let the Earth live on. It wasn't for the human's pleasure though, he just had to. Everyday, humans would take away more and more nature, and for this reason, Amaimon had to strengthen his powers to let more nature flourish. He had to call out earthquakes so the rubble could be destroyed and all his kin could try and replant the lost plants of the Earth.

 _He tried._

But it was so hard. He could hear and feel the pain the Earth felt. The soil was rottened, and all his kin were exhausted.

This earth was dying.

Because of a simple, weak species named "humans".

When he was a younger demon, he would always hear stories of this species in Assiah. All his elder brothers described as weak toys that were fun to watch.

And fun they were. Amaimon loved the way they struggled in his hands and the way they thought they ruled everything.

Oh, they wish they did.

They wish they could have powers like demons, powers like Satan, powers like him. But in all honestly, if humans had that much power, only greed and selfishness would take over them. They would abuse their power and destroy everything. They would ruin the planet. They always do. And every single one of them were disgusting and he couldn't help but abhor them.

So why is it that there were actually some humble humans? Every so often, Amaimon would find himself watching a human picking up trash or gardening. And they weren't doing it because they had to, but because they want to.

They cared about earth.

Amaimon would watch as they loved the earth and sang to them, and surprisingly, the earth would love them equally back and sing along to their glorious melody. Everything was in harmony.

And despite the fact that he was a demon and Amaimon loved destruction, he couldn't help himself but feel a little more content at this sight.

He knew deep down humans were awful like his brothers had said, but were they really? Human's had never done anything to him personally, and he had made several deals in the past, all of them pleading for power, money, a lover, or good crops. Amaimon gave this to them and in return they would give him their will.

Human's were so ignorant.

He watched as their faces crinkled up in pain as he took the will from their bodies. They pleaded for him to stop, but no, they agreed and there was no mercy now.

They died. Because what is one person without will? Without will you cannot live or flourish in the world. Without will, you are gone. Will is the base of hope and without hope, there is no purpose, and without purpose, there is no reasonable life to live. And so on.

People say he tricked them, but Amaimon didn't see it that way. He still gave them power and everything they ever wanted. Though they had it for a short amount of time. They never said how long they wanted their glory to last, so Amaimon cut it short. He stole their will and put it within himself, to try and build passion. No matter how much he tried though, it never would work. He was stuck without passion forever.

"Amaimon?"

The Earth king snapped his head up, and shook himself out of this thoughts to stare at his older brother, Mephisto. The other was seated at his desk, staring out of his office window with an amused look plastered on his face.

"Yes brother?"

"Look at this and tell me what you see."

Silently, Amaimon rose up from his position on the couch and strolled to his brother's side, glancing out the window. His eyes scanned outside before they landed on a pure sight to see.

Out on the school yard stood the one and only Rin Okumara and his friends, battling what seemed to be a plant demon. Amaimon almost snorted. Couldn't the students take five minutes without fighting something?

The plant demon seemed to be mighty tall, maybe 12 feet? Amaimon couldn't really tell; He didn't really understand how humans measured things.

The demon was an ugly thing, a monster-like figure made out of soil and rocks. Plants and flowers sprouted up it's back and with a mighty roar, the creature pounced towards a red haired student. The red head gave a "manly" yelp and ran out of the way, only for Rin to run forward and swing his weapon. Automatically, Amaimon could tell what had happened and why the demon was so upset.

"It seems little brother and his friends are attacking my kin after stepping into it's territory." Amaimon replied, moving his thumb to his mouth so he could nibble on the nail anxiously. Why couldn't they understand that the demon plant was only defending its land?

Amaimon turned away to walk back to the couch but his elder brother's voice put him to a stop.

"Well well, now look at this."

Quickly, Amaimon twisted over to see what new scene was playing now.

Surprisingly, he found himself staring as a young blonde girl (was that his bait from the fight he had with Rin a couple of months ago?) put herself in between the demon and her friends. She seemed to be explaining something desperately to her comrades as both sides of the party tried hard not to attack each other. Then, the girl turned to the demon and bowed low to it in respect. Her friends could only do the same.

"Wha-"Amaimon sputtered out, but it was caught in his throat, making him seem like he made a little noise instead. Mephisto looked over to him.

"Her name is Shiemi Moriyama. She's the bait you used months ago, remember? You made her your wife, if I can recall. Quite a performance I might say."

The plant demon seemed to calm and slowly, it lowered itself and faded into the depths of the earth. Shiemi gave a content look and turned to her friends who looked sheepishly at her.

Amaimon gaped at what happened. Did the girl just tame the demon? What magical powers did she possess? Was she also a demon like Rin? If she was, then it would be mighty fun to play with her. Amaimon couldn't remember the last time he played with someone.

Amaimon reached into his pocket to grab a lollipop. When he found none in there, he reached into all his other pockets.

Damn it, he was all out.

"Brother, do you have anymore sweets?"he asked, looking up and putting his hands to his sides. He was seriously craving something sugary.

Mephisto gave a laugh and opened a drawer from his desk, pulling out a bag of all sorts of candies. He tossed it over to Amaimon.

"Don't eat all of it, it's the last bag and i'm not buying anymore-"Mephisto chided, twirling around to see Amaimon already stuffing his face with sweets, not even taking off the wrappers.

Mephisto rolled his eyes and took the bag from him, moving back to his work. "I'll be starting on some papers, don't disturb me. You should go out and tour Japan, you'll certainly be bored here and i'm not putting up with you. Remember what happened last time?"he said, though Amaimon didn't answer, thinking about yesterday when he knocked over a bookshelf, trying to grab an action figure on top of it. Mephisto got so mad….

Amaimon nodded and stood.

"Understood brother! I shall go tour Japan!"he said, and grabbed his coat off the hanger. This was good, going out would certainly give him a good distraction of things.

Before he left however, he turned around and glanced at his brother.

"And I know, I won't kill or play with anyone."

* * *

Amaimon couldn't think of a more boring way to spend his time than what he was doing now.

Currently, the demon was perched on a park bench, licking an icecream cone he had gotten from a store not far from where he currently was. He didn't have any money at the moment, he had wasted it all on comic books and sweets, and some extra action figures for his brother, but who needed money when you where the King of Earth who was all powerful….

Amaimon bit his thumb nail.

Yeah, he needed money.

Big brother would absolutely kill him if he came back with all his money gone! What would he do now? He was a demon, how was he supposed to know how to save up currency correctly? It wasn't his fault that this stupid Earth revolved around dollars and coins, now was it?

Amaimon double checked his pockets once again to see if he had any change at all.

Nope.

Had he really wasted all his money? He remembered, once he left the Academy, he went to a manga store, a sweets shop, a nearby river, then to an anime shop, and for a while he was at theater, starring as corn seeds popped into fluffy snacks. After a while he headed to a forest which sooner or later led him to the park.

It wasn't a boring experience really. He actually enjoyed seeing more of Japan. The one good thing that came from humans is that they actually had interesting things. He loved passing the stores with some weird child's toy that was bouncing, twisting or moving in the window sill.

In Gehenna, he would have never had the joy of seeing all these things. His brothers frankly didn't adore him, and all the siblings normally ignored each other. Amaimon lived in his own little earth kingdom with his subjects, but it was very boring.

So that's why he created Amahara. At first, it was just a get away from his brothers. It started out small, but soon, he found himself enjoying spending his time in there. Every couple of weeks he would return and add little by little to the garden, and my oh my, it was beautiful. Amaimon allowed his kin to visit and live there as well and even went to the extent of creating a beautiful cavern for them all to flourish in, and in return, they tended the garden.

With so much work put into it, you can certainly imagine how grand it must of been, with all sorts of flowers and plants everywhere. Even the rarest plant of Gehenna was there as well, growing happily with it's comrades.

How human's found out about Amahara was beyond him.

He had always kept the garden a secret. The area was his safe place, and nobody has ever seen it except him. Not even his own big brother knew where it was located.

It wasn't that Amaimon didn't trust his brother, it was just that he was afraid. What if one day, his brother was mad and came into the garden then beat him up right there and then? He would be embarrassed in front of his subjects and everyone would laugh at him. He might have not cared much about anything, but he hated to be laughed at. Especially by people lower than him.

Amaimon could remember the time he played with Rin some time ago and his friends had shot some sort of fireworks at him. His hair had poofed up into broccoli, and everyone began to laugh at him. Of course, gave them a piece of his mind, but Rin beat him afterwards. Amaimon wondered if Mephisto liked Rin more because he was stronger. He always knew his brother preferred Rin over him, and it didn't really hurt like it used to.

He knew he was a pawn to be moved about, and he was okay with that. He knew what type of person his brother was.

Suddenly, the ground gave a little low rumble below him and Amaimon slowly glanced at the floor in confusion. As the shaking increased, the Earth King found himself jumping to his feet and dropping his things. Amaimon could feel the floor crack underneath him and groan as a hole opened in the ground. However, this wasn't his doing.

 _"Lord Amaimon, I have found you."_ A voice stretched out across the field, and humans all over the park scrambled to their feet upon seeing the owner of the voice, running out of area with screams of terror. Amaimon only narrowed his eyes at the thing before him.

It was like death and nightmares had a child.

And not a good looking one either.

The creature was 14 feet tall, with the ugliest face imaginable. Three eyes were on it's shoulder and it's mouth stretched from it's long ear to it's forehead. It's body was similar to a human's, but totally thicker and it's claws were huge. It had no tail, thankfully, but it seemed that it didn't need one. It's size was enough to do damage.

Who the hell summoned this beast-

Amaimon tilted his head at the demon and looked at it with a bored expression. "What do you want?"

He thanked his demon instincts still worked in Assiah when he sensed a claw being swung right at him. He quickly jumped out of the way, and flipped to the right. Amaimon snarled at the beast.

"You dare attack me, Lord Amaimon, The King Of Earth?"he bellowed to it, furious. How dare this low life demon attempt to hurt at him? Did he have a death wish?

The monster seemed hesitant at Amaimon's voice, but stepped forward and took another swing, which he dodged again.

He didn't know what to do honestly. He had four options now. Normally he always had two.

Either,

 _Destroy the school or get killed by brother_

 _Fight Rin or get killed by brother_

 _Kill/harm a human or get killed by brother_

 _Destroy any of the city or get destroyed by brother._

But, now he had the option of fighting this monster, getting killed by his brother, dodging it's attacks, or ignoring it. What should he do? Fighting this monster meant he would have to use his demon strength, and there were so many humans around that surely one of them would be destroyed or injured, and then his brother would kill him.

Then he had the option of walking away from the fight, but that totally destroyed his demon and Earth King pride. He would be called Amaimon, The Earth King who ran from a fight with a low class demon who attacked him. No subject of his would ever look at him the same! So, he wondered, which was it? Risk his pride or feel the wrath of his brother?

.

.

.

.

.

Run from the demon it is!

Amaimon dodged his opponent's attacks skillfully, flipping over the demon and swiping his feet so the other could trip.

 _The bigger they are, the harder they fall,_ he mused, watching as the giant fell to the ground with a satisfying thud. He turned to run off, but the demon smashed his fist into the ground, making huge amount of dirt and rocks fly up. Humans screamed as the buildings around him shook.

Quickly, Amaimon jumped up and landed on the bench's arm, biting his nail.

"What an angry one you are. It appears you won't let me leave. I'll have to surely kill you."he spoke to it with a sigh. The demon only growled and began to stand up.

"No need for such measures younger brother, I already have Yukio's students on the way."

Amaimon looked over to his brother, who stood behind him, watching the demon closely. The Earth King felt a happy relief wash over him, but he kept his emotionless expression.

"I wasted all the currency you gave me." he finally said.

A sigh escaped Mephisto's smug expression. "So I thought. I do hope you realize you don't be getting anymore."

"Yes brother."

A groan came from the monster, and both kings looked over to it as it crawled over.

 _"Lord Amaimonn…"_ , it moaned.

It reached out it's big hand towards the Earth King slowly, and it seemed as if it was growing something out of it's palm, but Amaimon couldn't tell.

Slowly, he could make out bits of green growing from him and just when he thought he could see what it was-

"ATTACK FROM ABOVE, THE GROUND SEEMS TO BE HIS ADVANTAGE!"

Surely enough, Yukio's crew came right on time, swinging their weapons around and looking pumped as ever.

Amaimon perked up and looked over the team. Now the real fun was about to begin!

He quickly spotted Rin, who jumped and brought down his flaming sword on the demon, who blocked the move, and turned it's attention to the teen. From afar, he could spot a female with purple hair enchanting a spell of some sort behind the monster, and Amaimon could only guess she was summoning her familiars to fight for her.

Suddenly, several blasts of pistols drew Amaimon's attention back to the monster. His eyes landed on Yukio, Rin's twin, who was shooting aggressively at him. The monster gave an annoyed yell and moved to swat Yukio away, but out of nowhere, Rin came to his brother's rescue and cut off it's hand with a single swing. Yukio gave his nod of gratitude, and in a hurry, Rin jumped up again to attack.

Amaimon watched, interested now. He never watched the team fight so up close before. It was interesting how they all worked together. Yukio was the creature's distraction, the girl weakened it, and Rin full on attacked. He kind of felt jealous over their intrepid attitudes. If only he was like that. Then brother would like him more.

Behind him, he could hear chanting of bible passages which seemed to weaken the demon and he hummed, looking over to his beloved elder brother.

"It attacked me out of nowhere. I do not know what it wants."he said, still keeping his gaze on the scene before him. Mephisto averted his eyes to him and pursed his lips.

"That is for us to wait and see."he said. After some moments of awkward silence, Mephisto finally laughed and seemed to give a look of pure mischief. "Finally, something interesting happens! I was beginning to get bored! I wonder what fun will play out now."

Amaimon rolled his eyes a bit at his brother's behavior, and suddenly a beautiful voice yelled out,

"GO NEE-SAN!"

Amaimon turned over to spot a certain blonde girl, running towards the scene. His lips curved into a grin.

Shiemi! Finally, he got to see her work her magic up close. Maybe she would tame this demon too?

The blonde was following her familiar across the the field, and Amaimon guessed that was the one Shiemi called Nee-san.

"My kin..?"he asked, and who he asked, he had no idea. It was a surprise to him that Shiemi had a low life demon such as that as her familiar. If she could tame demons, then wouldn't she have a big demon, not a small plant demon? Big demon or not, Nee-san suddenly stopped, and turned to Amaimon, as if hearing him. The little creature widened it's eyes at his king and Sheimi reached him.

"Nee-san, what's wrong?"she asked, looking a bit worried. Amaimon looked over Shiemi's features carefully and pursed his lips. My, was she attractive. She had the right curves in the right places, and to Amaimon's joy, she was in school uniform, which uncovered a bit more than it needed to. Amaimon took a deep breath so he wouldn't start grinning, and instead, looked over to the little familiar again.

Nee-san was still looking at Amaimon, much to his dismay, contemplating on what to do. Shiemi seemed confused and before she could turn to see what he was staring at, Mephisto grabbed him and teleported them away with a poof.

* * *

When back in his brother's office, Amaimon let out a sigh and fell face first into the couch, exhausted. That was mighty close! Shiemi almost saw him.

He could only think of the hell that would cause if she did.

Amaimon closed his eyes and thought about Shiemi, and how the uniform was tight in just the right areas. Sure, he was a demon, but come on, Shiemi was just attractive.

Amaimon felt himself heat up and quickly, he decided that he needed time to think.

"I'll be leaving brother."he said and stood, stretching a bit. He tried to look casual while he did it, and made sure he wasn't blushing. He would die if his big brother knew about his thoughts on Shiemi.

"My, my, aren't you in a hurry? Where in the world are you heading to?" Mephisto said, who currently was hanging his white cloak.

"To my garden."replied Amaimon. He knew Mephisto already knew it existed. Countless times before, he had given the same answer and Mephisto never really pried much on the subject of his garden. It didn't even seem like he cared much about it.

"Hmmm, very well." Mephisto hummed and walked across the room to his desk. Amaimon watched him, feeling as if Mephisto had more to say. His brother was a mysterious type; he was happy one minute, angry the next. You never really knew what to expect from the guy, and Amaimon knew this about his brother, so there had to be a catch for him acting so calmly. He just didn't know what.

"You know, i've never been to your garden. Why is that?"

Ah, there it is.

"I don't know brother, you never really asked." he carefully replied answered, his lips twitching. He really hoped his brother didn't ask to visit. He just didn't want him to see it, or find out where it was. He could practically feel his heart thump in his chest and Amaimon urged himself not to bite his thumb, a habit he did out of boredom/ nervousness. He didn't know where he adapted the habit, but it did help ease his anxiousness by a tenfold.

"Well, why don't I see it?"

Oh, damn it all.

* * *

It took Amaimon merely five minutes for him to summon the portal to his garden.

At first he was very hesitant, but at Mephisto's awaiting look, he sped up the pace and began to enchant a spell in his own earth language.

Green light began to glow from his mouth and eyes, and wisps twirled around his body, only to stop at his fingertips. With a quick snap of his finger, a rift opened up and the door to his garden appeared. Amaimon stopped chanting at this and opened the entrance, stepping to the side for Mephisto to see his kingdom.

When his strode in, Amaimon sat himself on a tree branch to watch his brother examine the entrance of the garden. After he finished looking around, Amaimon began to lead him to all other parts of the garden, but only the least important. The Garden of Amahara was too big to see all in one day, but somehow, Amaimon managed to get a good schedule in his head for the tour he gave his brother. He showed him smaller areas first before going to more demonic areas; he didn't dare show Mephisto the most important parts. He was just afraid he would destroy it.

As they walked along the garden, Greenmen and all kind of Amaimon's kin stopped their activity to stare at their king and guest. Mephisto only grinned at them and waved, and they quivered in fear, going back to their bushes or work. Amaimon ignored them.

He showed his brother a darker area of the garden and explained each flower and their purpose to waste time. Mephisto seemed intrigued however, and asked many questions about the flowers, which Amaimon answered dully.

With much walking in the garden they finally stopped when his brother spotted the forbidden tree.

Mephisto's face seemed to offer a serious and awed look (Amaimon didn't know how that was possible) as he stared at the beauty, and he turned to Amaimon, then motioned to the tree. "The forbidden tree, correct?"

"Yes brother. This is the only one I have." Amaimon nodded, looking up at the beautiful tree, which was sprouting glowing fruits. He plucked one and gave it to his brother, setting it in his hands.

"Here, you can have it. It's eatable; i've eatened quite a few in my time."

"Thank you little brother." He said, and Amaimon watched as his brother licked his dry lips, taking a bite of the fruit.

Mephisto's eyes widened.

"Oh, this is delicious!"he cried out, "What a fruit indeed! How did you manage to get it in your garden?"

Amaimon gave him a sly look, before leading his brother to another part of the garden. "I'm the Earth King brother, I have ways. Plus Lucifer gave me one of the fruits for my birthday present."

He didn't bother tell Mephisto the other details of how Lucifer came into his room that night, demanding questions about Mephisto and his father. Or how he protected his brother and denied everything. Or how he was beaten to a pulp after that. Nah, he didn't bring that up.

That was another conversation for another time.

* * *

Amaimon decided to return to his brother's office two days later for some more sweets. He had found himself craving them and even though he had honey in his garden, that certainly didn't do.

He was very much disappointed when he found his brother missing from the office. Of course he stayed for a while for his brother to return, but when two hours passed, he gave up.

Defeated, Amaimon jumped out the window and landed on the school ground, walking to a nearby forest to entertain himself instead. He tried to get there quickly too, speed walking across the school campus. Brother would be upset if some students found him outside, he thought, brother would be angry if he killed them.

Brother would also be angry if Amaimon fought the children who just tried to throw something at him. But maybe brother could take a hike for a minute.

Whirling around, Amaimon let out a growl to look at the human who hurled a container at his back.

"Who-" he started, but was cut off when the container suddenly exploded into mist of holy water all over Amaimon, who only gritted at the annoying pain that was starting in his sides.

He was surprised to see Rin and Yukio standing there with their weapons out and ready to fight. The trio's eyes met and Amaimon felt himself glower at them. Behind them, the rest of their friends showed up, glaring at him and Amaimon composed himself, standing straight.

"Can I help you with something or can I continue on my way?"he asked boringly, trying with all his might not to strangle them right now. The pain was still prickling at him and he could feel himself weaken just a bit. They were so annoying! What was their problem?

Yukio twirled his pistols in his hand and shot at Amaimon's feet. The demon glowered at him, but Yukio didn't waver his own glare that he was throwing at Amaimon.

"Don't play dumb! We all know it was you who summoned all those demons to attack us Amaimon!"

.

.

.

.

Huh?

"Yeah! And now we're here to beat you up!"Rin said from beside Yukio, and his classmates only groaned at his comment. Amaimon was confused. Demons? Surely they were mistaken.

Amaimon pursed his lips and tilted his head,"I didn't summon demons-"

More bullets shot at his feet and Amaimon cursed loudly. A huge yell came and he knew this signaled the rest of the students to attack. Amaimon dodged a couple of swings Rin threw at him, and bared his fangs. He didn't have time to for this!

"Fine, if it's a fight you want, then you'll get one you pathetic humans!"

The ground shook, but the other party didn't weaken at all. Spells of enchantment, familiars, bullets and swords were thrown at him, but Amaimon managed to dodge them all.

As Rin swung at him, Amaimon ducked and elbowed him right in the gut, sending him flying to a tree. He could sense Yukio readying another load of ammo at him, and before he could fire, Amaimon grabbed some rocks from the ground and threw them straight at his pistols, sending them right out of his hand. With this distraction, Amaimon ran straight for Yukio with a roar, getting ready to give him a powerful blow.

But he never landed that blow.

He stopped as soon as he heard the voice. "NEE-SAN, GO!"

 _Her_ voice.

Yukio looked up in surprise at his stiffened figure and kicked Amaimon away from him, rolling to grab his weapons again. Amaimon grunted at the kick and he felt bullets being shot into his shoulder. Vines grew up his leg, and he looked over to Nee-san, who was growing them from his arms. However, Amaimon growled at him and Nee-san seemed to whimper and stop, but Rin didn't at all.

A blue flaming sword was swung straight at him from above. Amaimon didn't know how, but he managed to dodge his blow. More bullets were shot at him and all around him, and Amaimon began to realize that they were adapting a ubiquitous strategy, which he didn't like at all.

He could feel his anxiety kicking in, and Amaimon let out a mighty roar. He summoned the ground to shake, and with a couple of violent moves of his hand, he sent rocks and rubble flying all over the place.

He was so annoyed! He didn't summon some fucking beasts! He was in his garden for those days, thinking about Shiemi! This is why he hated humans, they always jumped to conclusions and always thought they were right.

He threw rubble at everyone, which resulted them to fall to the ground in painful groans. The ground stopped shaking, and Amaimon looked around him, seeing cracks in the Earth and trees fallen over. He cursed at himself for letting such a thing happen, but he wasted no time, and broke into run.

Amaimon soon spotted Shiemi though, right in front of him and he had to stop. He let a grin grow on his face as he began to summon a huge boulder out of the ground. He looked up to see her face.

He dropped the rock with a loud thud.

Shiemi looked so terrified and weak….he couldn't just hit her, could he? Yes, he could, but, it just didn't feel right. He couldn't do this. Shiemi was just ….argh! This girl wasn't special, he yelled mentally to himself. Shiemi isn't special!

Amaimon took a step back, much to Shiemi's surprised look and turned, jumping into the forest.

What was wrong with him?

* * *

Shiemi's pink lips curved into a small smile as she patted the rich soil around a new lilac flower.

"You'll really like it here,"she told it. "I have little creatures in this garden who can help me take care of you, and I'm sure the other flowers will love you!"

She picked up a watering can and joyfully sprinkled a bit of water over the sprout. When she set it down, Shiemi laid back into the grass next to it and began to explain what she explained to each new member of the garden.

"You live in my grandmother's garden. I mean, it's mine now, but it used to belong to her…." she started, and slowly she began to dive into memories she held dearly to her heart. She began to talk about each flower and their names, her favorite spot in the area, and the times she would take care of all flowers. She was too sucked in her conversation with the plant, that she didn't notice how much time had passed by.

"Shiemi!"

Shiemi sat up, and looked over to the back door, spotting her mother.

"Yeah mom?"

"Dinner is ready! Are you still talking to the flowers?"  
"Yeah mom! I just got this new flower, and I was telling him about grandmother!"

A sigh came.

"Alright, just come inside when your done!"

"Kay!" she said. Shiemi looked over to the flower and patted the dirt once more.

"I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow."she muttered, and stood up, dusting herself. With one final smile, Shiemi bounced back into her home, and she failed to notice the plant smile with content.

She had no idea how much she had an affect on nature.

* * *

When Shiemi walked through the gates to check on the garden early that Saturday morning, she noticed how happier the flowers and plants looked and she could only thank last night's rain with a bubbly smile.

Dew was collected on the leaves and grass and Shiemi had to move carefully so she wouldn't get all her legs wet while checking on the flowers. Trudging slowly in front of the nature, she took in a deep breath of air, looking over each plant carefully. Since the garden was already watered due to the rain, Shiemi's only job was to make sure the leaves of each plant was okay. She remembered every tip her grandmother had given to her, and it certainly proved helpful in the garden.

When seeing everything was perfect and in line, Shiemi walked out of the garden, humming to herself. Her mother currently was at the shop, so it only took one or two minutes for her to explain where she was going.

Even though the two got along now, Shiemi could still tell their relationship was strained. Her mother barely came into the garden, and if she did, it was only to tell Shiemi it was time to eat. They were very awkward, but Shiemi was okay with that. Over time they would warm up to each other, she thought.

It took ten minutes, but finally she made it to the park with a bit of quick walking. She looked around the area and smiled to herself, seeing the big field of grass before her. It had no flowers or anything extravagant, but Shiemi liked it nonetheless. It was simple, and calm and quiet, just the way she liked things.

Shiemi went to sit near some trees, and took out some papers out of her bag she had brought with her. With beautiful days like these, she liked to sit in the warm sun as the wind danced around her with such graceful momentum. It made her feel content and just being one with the Earth was the most splendid feeling imaginable. Feeling the dirt at your fingertips and watching life grow before you….it was just amazing. It made her feel like she was really living, ya know? She wasn't one of those girls looking 'for a place in the world' and she wasn't finding a 'true love' either. She already had her purpose, which was being one with earth!(and being an exorcist, of course!)

The blonde began to take out her pencils and watercolors, setting them down next to her. She moved to get into a more comfortable sitting position and crossed her legs, making sure her kamino didn't show any inappropriate parts of her body. When that was done, Shiemi picked up her paper and pencil, setting it in her lap and took a deep breath of air. Then, she began to draw.

She used quick movements, making out the curves of the trees, and the shadows of the clouds. She could sketch the grass easily, jotting little scribbles throughout the paper to indicate what it was. Shiemi soon began to zone out as her hands flowed in smooth and clean movements, adding leaves here and there in some areas and birds in another.

Shiemi really didn't know for how long she could draw honestly. It had always come easily to her. After her grandmother died, Shiemi found that she couldn't go into the garden without crying, so she developed a new hobby of drawing all the flowers she knew of instead. Time came, and Shiemi soon became obsessed with drawing and some time after, she became obsessed with her grandmother's favorite thing in the whole world; her garden.

She had made a bet with a demon, but at first she didn't know. It was a fairy, or at least that's what it told her. I mean, how was she supposed to know it was a demon? It seemed so kind and nice, Shiemi didn't see any harm. As long as her grandmother's only possession was safe, she was okay. She couldn't just let her Grandmother's garden wither away. It was her fault her grandmother died, and it wouldn't be fair to her. Her grandmother died for the garden, and Shiemi had to protect it, even if it meant a demon took away her will of walking. That's what Shiemi used to think.

Because one day, Rin Okumura came and saved her.

Shiemi sometimes hated Rin for being so strong. The way he would jump into everything and save everybody angered her from time to time, but she knew she could never tell a soul. It would be wrong, really. Shiemi practically owed him her life, and here she was, saying she hated him. That would sound ridiculous and untrue. Shiemi couldn't just waltz around saying that, because really, did she dislike him?

She didn't know what it was….maybe she hated him and maybe she didn't. She loved him for being so strong but disliked him for it too. It was just that...Rin was so great. He had a good heart and good intentions, and he was so passionate. He looked up to. Shiemi wasn't. It was hard to say, but she knew this part was true. She was jealous. All her life she had been weak and unsocial. Meanwhile, Rin could do it so easily. He could chat it up with anybody and everybody and sometimes she felt left behind. Rin was her friend, but he also had his own life too. He couldn't always coach Shiemi on how to handle people or talk to them. Shiemi had to learn alone.

Forever alone.

Time soon passed and Shiemi found herself wrapped up in her thoughts again, finishing the picture carefully. Everything was just like a replica of the field before her, but it held more of an atmosphere. You could really feel as if you were in the actual field with the way the grass was bent and the extra details. The sunlight almost seemed realistic and it was happy. It was one of her best works, Shiemi thought.

With one last glance, Shiemi began to pack her things, standing to leave. She walked along the field, stuffing papers and such inside her bag, leaving the park. She looked down at her bags, trying to get her papers inside the dang thing. It didn't work of course, because her bag was still zipped half way, but she tried anyways.

And then, everything began to fly.

The wind, the freaking wind just had to blow right when she was putting things away! She tried to make a desperate grab for them, but it was too late, and all the papers went in the opposite direction. With a swear in her mind, Shiemi ran after all of them, dancing around the people in the street who gave her odd looks.

She caught up with most of her work luckily, and made her final jog towards her actual drawing, which landed onto someone's face. She silently panicked. Surely she would be yelled at! Anybody would be upset with paper landing in their face, and the victim seemed to be a male..oh gosh.

Anxiety began to course through her veins and she nervously looked up to apologize the person who caught it-

And Shiemi screamed.

* * *

Amaimon didn't expect this at all.

He didn't expect some paper to fly into his face and he certainly didn't expect his favorite tamer to pop out of nowhere, screaming. But then again, he didn't really expect Rin and Yukio to fight him or for a demon to attack him either. Why did all the unexpected happen to him anyways? Over the last few days he was in Assiah, it seemed like weird things were starting to happen. Amaimon had sensed it, and he knew his brother did too. He could just feel something in the atmosphere, and whether anybody else could tell wasn't his problem. Besides, anyone else's problem would most likely be entertainment for him and his brother.

But as of late, it appeared that everything was happening to him, and him only him. Like he was the show instead of the watcher. And the audience? Amaimon had no clue. The audience was the anonymous and Amaimon hated it. He very much disliked not knowing things. He was a type of a person who liked to be in control of something. He liked to be the master of the game and he loved to win. He especially loved gazing down at his victims as they died from their games. Watching them groan in pain was lovely, honestly. In Gehenna, he had no problem fighting and playing games. Expressing his vexations had always been easy with lower class demons to do with. But now, he knew he couldn't do so in the situation he was in.

Standing before him was Shiemi Moriyama, the famous tamer he had seen not so long ago. Amaimon could feel his skin turn increasingly hot, and he began to bite flesh inside his cheek. He was beginning to feel the same thing he had felt days ago, and Amaimon was sure it was some lines of hatred or interest.

Amaimon stayed quiet, and stared down at Shiemi, pursing his lips, Unlike him, who preferred to stay eerily calm, Shiemi was different, and had taken herself to screaming instead, which he didn't appreciate at all. People would notice, he thought, brother would be upset, and he certainly didn't want that. Quickly, Amaimon raised his hand and clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her. He stopped biting the inside of his cheek and swallowed some saliva that had gathered in his mouth, opening his mouth to speak.

"Hello bride."

Shiemi silenced herself completely, and stared up at Amaimon with widened eyes. He began to lift up his hand to allow her to reply, and Shiemi only stepped backwards, stuttering utter nonsense.

"H-he, y-you, I….R-rin killed you.."

Amaimon snorted. Of course, she had to bring up the one thing they had in common.

"On the contrary bride, I feel quite alive. He can't kill me anyways, I'm a demon king."

"O-Oh…"

Did he really seem so weak to others that it was easily thought that he was killed by Rin? Amaimon couldn't help but feel a wave of anger course through him as well as amusement. Watching Shiemi so boldly speak him was funny, but it didn't decrease the irritation that was in the pits of his stomach.

Amaimon suddenly seemed to remember the paper in his hands and flickered his eyes down at what Shiemi was exactly trying to catch. Looking over it, he hummed, seeing the landscape that drawn out. Not bad.

"I did not know you possessed artistic skills, my bride."he stated, showing the other her paper.

"Oh! I..uh...M-may I please have it back?" Shiemi asked, shifting her feet a bit. She looked nervous, and it made Amaimon more agitated for some reason. Normally, he would enjoy people quivering around him, but with Shiemi, it was pathetic.

"Stop it."

"Eh? Stop what?"

"Stop stuttering. You aren't a human child."he snapped and he could feel Shiemi shrink back. Amaimon grinned, and turned around, beginning to form the perfect game in his head. "I think i'll keep this art."

"Hey!"she yelled, stepping forward. Quickly, he looked over to her and glared, earning a little surprised squeal.

"I mean...your majesty…"She gave a clumsy bow, then stood straight again."Please, give it back!"

"Oh? And why should I?" he asked, tilting his head, resisting a smirk from crawling onto his pale face. Shiemi was the perfect entertainment. She even bowed to him!

"It's mine! You have no right to just take it.."Shiemi started to explain, but slowly quieted as he leaned closer to her. Amaimon positioned himself next to her ear, and he could feel her shiver.

"I propose a deal."he muttered. Shiemi blinked, and Amaimon continued on. "I'll give you back your drawings if you… show me your home."

She began to protest and Amaimon looked at her, swiftly taking hold of her blue bag filled with art supplies.

"Hey!"  
"I'll also return these if you entertain me there too."

The blonde quieted and Amaimon could tell she was thinking about her offer. He could feel excitement bubble up in his chest. What an interesting turn of events! Here he thought, he was going to have another boring day of walking around Japan, but now he was making a deal with a human! Amaimon could just dance around happily.

"Fine….I'll do it…"she sighed, though hesitantly. "But….you have to promise you'll give me back my things and never bother me again!"

Amaimon grinned. She dare order him around? What an interesting human! He couldn't just leave her alone after realizing how fun she was….He hadn't had entertainment in weeks, months even. He wouldn't just let her go so easily. No, she was his new toy, and he was ecstatic that she even agreed to his terms.

Amaimon crossed his fingers behind his back.

"Deal."

* * *

The two were silent on the way back to Shiemi's house. It didn't seem like Shiemi tried to strike up a conversation, and Amaimon didn't really want her to either. It seemed like she was too busy on contemplating how to entertain him, and Amaimon himself was too focused on another thing.

He blankly stared at Shiemi's head, admiring the way a halo glowed over it. It reminded him of those pictures of Saint Mary on candles. He remembered seeing those not so long ago in the west side of Assiah in a country named 'America', and seeing Shiemi with a halo just reminded him of them.

It wasn't actually there though, but the sun's reflection sure made it seem that way. It was almost like Assiah's silent message to him of how innocent she was, and how he couldn't taint her because of his brother's threat.

The universe just loved to mock him.

"My mother might be home, so you'll have to stay here until I check." Shiemi finally spoke when they reached her home. Amaimon quickly snapped out of his gaze and turned to her, blinking.

"You forget the barrier."

A sigh escaped Shiemi's lips as she touched the garden gate. The two were stationed in front of Shiemi's garden, and of course, a barrier was around the building to assure demons wouldn't enter. Amaimon could sense it from a mile away, and he silently cursed the things for even existing. How bothersome they were really.

"I'll turn off the barriers for two seconds so you can come in...and remember about our deal! You come in, I entertain you, and you leave!" Shiemi said, and puffed out her cheeks so she would look serious. Amaimon just shrugged.

"Yeah, sure."

With that reply, Shiemi turned and walked into the garden, leaving Amaimon to wait patiently. He stood still, listening to the annoying buzzes the blue force made beside him. Shiemi was gone for five minutes or so, and soon, Amaimon grew bored. What was taking her so long? Did she plan to stay inside so he couldn't enter? He gritted his teeth at the thought.

Amaimon walked forward the gate, and went to touch the barrier. Maybe, he could break it, he thought, this way he could just enter and Shiemi didn't have to do all that work. It would be easy, and fun. But then, there was a possibility that he could destroy Shiemi in the process too...did he really care about her well-being though?

Amaimon's finger went forth to touch the force field, despite his brain screaming not to, and he could feel the sparks of pure energy at his finger tip. And just as his appendage almost made contact with the barrier, the field suddenly disappeared, much to his surprise. So, Shiemi actually fulfilled her promise.

Quickly, Amaimon slipped in the gate and scanned Shiemi's backyard. Behind him, he could hear the barrier turn on again, but Amaimon paid no notice to it. He just stared at the flowers.

It seemed so Shiemi-like, if that was even a thing. He could just feel the love and effort Shiemi put into the garden before him, and the flowers looked so alive and happy. So many colors decorated the area, and everything looked healthy as could be. The sun reflected off a fountain in a nearby corner and the sun seemed to glow brighter in the garden.

Amaimon could feel a weight being lifted off his shoulders at this new change of bright atmosphere, and stood in the middle of the area, taking a deep breath. Quickly, the plants around the garden seem to finally notice their king's presence, and began to cheer,

 _"Lord!"_

 _"Why is he here…?"_

 _"Master!"_

 _"Your Majesty!"_

 _"Hey look!"_

 _"Amaimon!"_

 _…._

 _"What brings you here my King?"_

A certain voice caught his attention, and Amaimon turned to a lone sunflower, which stood tall compared to its companions. Amaimon admired it's beauty and the way the petals curved symmetrically. He liked flowers like those, he decided. The plants that were all even on all sides were the ones he preferred the most. It was the only form of order he liked.

Amaimon seemed to remember his servant's question and shook himself out of his thoughts, turning to reply.

"The owner of the garden, Shiemi, brought me here. We made a deal you see…"

The plants giggled in interest. _"Ooooh, tell us more King of Earth!"_

"Amaimon!"

The Earth King turned around and spotted Shiemi jogging to him with a natural bounce. When she was close enough in talking distance, she stopped and gazed up at him.

"My mother isn't home, so we can go inside if you want-"

"I want to be out here." Amaimon replied and moved to sit on the soft grass in the middle of the garden. Shiemi pursed her lips sat next to Amaimon, armslength away. He could understand her distance. Surely she must have been afraid of him, with him being a king and all. Both of them sat in silence and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"So I….um….."

Gosh, this was awkward.

"Nice weather we're having." Amaimon said, recalling the lessons his brother gave him on socializing not so long ago. He didn't listen to all of his lecture, but he did remember that starting with the weather or some new information was always the way to go when wanting to converse. But Amaimon didn't really want to talk, he wanted to be entertained, dammit.

"Oh yeah...very sunny…."Shiemi agreed, giving him an odd look. Amaimon frowned. Did he not say the right thing? He thought that was how you started conversations….. "So about the entertainment...I don't really know what to do…"

Amaimon moved to nibble on his thumb nail.

"Tell me a story."

"Huh? A-a story? Of what?" Shiemi asked, snapping her head to him in surprise, blonde hair bouncing behind her. "I don't know any good stories at all!"

Amaimon sighed, and met her eyes. "Make one up. It better be entertaining, because if it's not, your not getting this art or any of your stuff back."

"Uh, kay…."she mumbled, and looked at the grass. She sat in silence, trying to think of a story, but after a moment or two, she gave Amaimon an exasperated look. The Earth King tilted his head.

"Well...?"

Shiemi sighed in failure. "I...I can't think of one…"

"Really? It's not that hard! Are you just dead in the brain or something lady?" he asked, leaning forward and knocking on her head with his finger. Shiemi made a noise and slapped his hand away, though not in a disrespectful manner. (he was a demon king)

"Well, if it's so easy, then why don't you do it, your majesty?" she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Very well! I shall accept your challenge and tell a story. My tale should give you marvelous inspiration for your own, so you better be ready when i'm done."

"Right!…..so..what's your story about?"

"It's actually a memory from my childhood…."

And all the flowers leaned in to listen.

* * *

Hot winds grazed over the red sand of Gehenna slowly, sweeping dirt aside silently onto a road. On that road of red were two figures, walking along the path slowly and silently. The Earth king sighed, and gazed at the red ground as the warm wind rustled his green hair softly. It was relaxing to say the least, and it did somehow add a sense of relief to his tense day. The wind and environment always helped him calm his nerves. It was probably because he was the Earth King though. He bet if he wasn't an all powerful nature freak, he wouldn't like outside at all.

Amaimon was currently lost in his thoughts, but not very much so, for he was still so young. Thinking so much was dangerous at his age, unfortunately. Thinking would lead to him having his own individual thoughts, and that would lead to him being rebellious. That wouldn't do at all.

Amaimon was on the same level of mentality as a ten year old, and he was quite a lively thing. He was happy and cheerful, like a child should be, and was also emotional and reckless as well. He was naive, but you could expect that much from such a young demon. That's why Amaimon looked up to his brother, Mephisto, and always taken into following him around. Mephisto was so smart and brave, he had just grown accustomed to loving him. Though, I can't really call him Mephisto, can I reader?

No, his name wasn't Mephisto. It was Samael.

In Gehenna, that was his original name. He was the great and powerful Samael, king of time and space, and second in the royal blood line. With a flick of his hand, his brother could kill someone, and Amaimon couldn't help but admire him so.

That was besides the point however. The point was that Amaimon was a young demon, I dare say the baby of them all. Out of all his brothers, he was definitely the youngest. Of course with being the youngest, it meant he was always picked on by his elders. No one stood up for him, and Amaimon surely didn't stand up for himself either.

Standing up for himself without any powers meant the worse for him. It meant more beatings and more torture.

No, it was only until he got his powers when he could stand up for himself. And even then, he couldn't do much. All his elder brothers were stronger than him, even if he had powers of the earth. Light, water, fire, time? That was far greater than his own power. Even so, he was still frustrated and sick of all the constant torture he received.

Amaimon clenched his fists as he continued to follow behind his brother to their shared home not so far from where they currently were with a sigh. He could feel his other brothers' presence behind him and it was irritating. He had felt it for a while now, but he kept following his sibling, hoping Samael would do something, but as always, he was wrong. He gritted his teeth. _Why don't they just show themselves?_

The young demon king stared at the floor, feeling the presence of his brothers suddenly grow closer. He knew exactly who it was, and it was his least favorite pair.

Ugh.

 _Them._

Egyn and Iblis are their names, kings of water and fire. Both were 5th in the royal family blood line and powerful, just like kings should be. Everybody loved them, and adored them so. I mean, they _were_ kings! Good looking ones at that.

And if that didn't add to their popularity, then the fact that they were twins did. Though Egyn had dark blue hair had Iblis had fire orange hair, they still both shared the same purple eyes that shone as bright as the moon. This is what really brought their subjects to love them so. Good looks and eyes like that were something to die for in Gehenna. Unfortunately for Amaimon, he wasn't all that good looking. Not in the same way that Egyn and Iblis were.

The two brothers were always seen together and they were like different sides of the same coin. Egyn was always on the right, and Iblis always on the left. They were like those _Super Twin **Champion Cherry** and/or **Galactic Grape** Popsicles_ you found in a store like Walmart or whatever. **(good job author. Best metaphor ever 10/10)** But no matter how close they were, nobody dared to comment about it. The two were twins, sure, but they hated anyone saying they were close, though it was true. They couldn't live without one another. The two were supposed to be born as one child, but somehow ended up as two. It wasn't that they liked to be together, they had to be. They were two people that came from one, they were destined to be united. Just like the _Super Twin Lighting Lime Popsicles_ found for $4.99 at Walmart. **(can I stop already omfg)**

They were one.

Water and fire.

Fire and water.

It didn't matter, when they were together, it was a mix of both. And it was dangerously amazing. Though, he'd never admit that.

"Hello youngest brother!" he heard Egyn say behind him. Amaimon turned around as Iblis laughed out loud. His eye twitched.

Iblis was normally the silly one of the two. He was the one with more emotion and anger, and well, he wasn't all that smart. It was insulting, but true. Egyn was the calmer and more intelligent of the two, though nobody said anything about it. It seemed Egyn knew however, and made sense though. Anger, emotion, passion, and hatred would all fit under the fire element, while calm stillness, peace, sadness, fear, and knowledge was more of a water element. Their personality fit their element, and while it was annoying, it was good.

"Ahh, Egyn and Iblis. I was wondering when you two would show your selves. You've been following us for a while now. Perhaps to make a scene in front of our subjects?" Samael said, and Amaimon moved to catch his sibling motioning to all the demons now surrounding them to watch them. Amaimon suddenly felt as if popcorn was being made inside of his stomach, despite trying to calm himself. Dammit, the wind and enviroment couldn't do jack to calm his stress now. He was beyond being helped.

Iblis and Egyn grinned at Samael, and bowed quickly to him in respect.

"Oh, greetings elder brother!"they said in usion. Egyn gave the largest grin ever and Iblis leaned on his twin's shoulder.

"Yes, we did walk all this way-

Iblis piped up,"And followed you-"

"So we could choose the perfect time-"Egyn continued.

"To beat our little Amaimon senseless in front of everyone!" they finished with a big pose. All the demons around them clapped and cheered, amused. Finally, they would get the entertainment they wanted!

"Hmm, alright then." Samael snorted, and put a hand on Amaimon's shoulder. He looked at him with a devious grin. "Amaimon, i'll keep going. Have fun with our brothers, alright?"

Oh.

So he was alone.

Amaimon nodded slowly at his brother and Samael turned around, continuing on his way. The demons standing in his path quickly made space for him to walk through silently, and in two seconds he was gone. All Amaimon's hope seemed to wash away at that moment. Here he thought his brother would actually help him with the situation, but nope.

He could feel his heart thump in his chest quickly, and Amaimon was forced to flex his hand to calm himself.

Just think, what would Samael do…?

Well, for starters, Samael would walk off probably. He wouldn't have time to deal with this, being such a big deal. But if he was engaged in combat, he would dodge then land a blow. That was impossible for him however, he wasn't that good at landing blows at all, much less dodging them. Oh, what to do?

Nonetheless, Amaimon raised his two fists slowly, and everyone around him laughed loudly. Laughter and mockery rang through his ears, but Amaimon kept his ground, staring at his opponents and shifting his feet.

Swirls of fire and water suddenly began to emerge from the ground, floating around them quickly in a dangerous flow, and Amaimon feared the worst.

This was it. He would die.

"Prepare to get the worst time of your life!" Egyn bellowed, and raised his hand to put emphasis into his words. Unfortunately, he hit his brother's face in the process, which caused Iblis to fall to the floor. The fire king hissed and glared up at his brother.

"Ouch! Dammit, watch what you're doing, douchebag!"

Amaimon watched silently from his fighting stance, and every demon in the area turned to spectate the performance. The earth king's mouth turned downwards. Were they even taking this seriously?

"Watch where you're standing."Egyn said back calmly. Iblis held his head and made a glare at him.

"You could at least say sorry Egyn!"hissed the fire king. "That hurt dammit!"

Egyn shrugged. "Nah. Now get up, you're wasting time."

"Am not!"Iblis shot back.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am no-"

* * *

"Um, your majesty?"

Quickly snapping out of his story, Amaimon sat up and looked over to the owner of the voice, which was Shiemi.

"Hmm, yeah?"

The whole garden was listening quietly to his story, and even now, it was still so silent. Shiemi seemed to notice, so she made sure she didn't speak so loudly. Amaimon noted how quietly she always spoke, and when she actually tried to hush down, it sounded like a whisper.

"Is there any point to this story?"

Amaimon blinked at the question and tapped his chin in thought. Was there a point? He was just telling her a childhood memory really...

"No...I don't think so."

All the flowers in the garden seem to glare at him and the earth king gave some sort of smug look at them. He didn't get what they were so upset about. It _was_ a story from his childhood, not some lesson or anything. Was there supposed to be a point? It there was, he guess he understood why they were annoyed at...but he didn't know if there was supposed to be one. So, Amaimon cleared his throat and tried again.

"Well, I guess the point is that I was picked on by my brothers allot and nobody stood up for me."

Suddenly, Shiemi's face expression softened, and she leaned back again, pursing her lips. Amaimon watched as she frowned. and he felt a twinge of irritation. "That's pretty sad."

Amaimon growled, and scratched at his arm to calm himself, glaring at her.

"Don't."

Shiemi frowned. "Don't what?"

"Don't pity me."he snapped, and began to gnaw at his nails. This was silly, he didn't need pity from her. Sure she was attractive, but it didn't mean he wanted her kindness. This wasn't some stupid fairytale where everyone was all mushy and lived happily ever after.

But despite what he thought, Shiemi didn't seem to get it, and the blonde before Amaimon sat up and reached forward, lowering his hand, stopping him from biting his nails.

"I-i don't pity you. I just pity the life you led...I'm human, so naturally I would think stuff like that is...well...cruel."she explained carefully, averting her gaze to the grass. "Siblings are supposed to love each other and care for each other. That's what humans are taught."

Amaimon thought this over.

Sure it was true, humans loved each other. But what did it really do? Could they really trust each other so badly? After a while, trust would be broken. There wasn't a point. He tried to compare it to his relationship with his brother. While it was true that they were close, it wasn't really built on trust. Was it…? No, not really. His brother only made it seem like they were close, but Amaimon just knew it wasn't so. The relationship they both had wasn't built on trust or love. They were just using each other, and any hug or smile they shared had no real love put into it. How could it, when they were just using each other for their own benefit?

"Don't say anything bad in return."

Amaimon turned to look at her, tilting his head. What did she just-

"You're going to say something like 'that's stupid' or 'it'll never be that way in Gehenna anyways'." she said, trying to mimic his voice. Amaimon personally thought it sounded horrible, but he still gave her credit for trying. But it didn't matter anyways, because something inside him boiled.

"You don't know me, human."he seethed. Shiemi smiled.

"I think I do, you're quite predictable actually. You have a cool personality, even if you don't think so."

"Do not!"he protested, and jabbed a finger at her chest, earning a small gasp in return. "You don't know anything about me, so don't act like you do! You don't know me or what I am!"

Shiemi challenged. "Do too."

"Do not!"he yelled back.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

 _"Do not!_ "

"Do too!"

 ** _"Do not!_** "

"Do too!"

 ** _"DO NOT!"_**

"..."

Shiemi stayed silent after that last word, looking down. Amaimon grinned and crossed his arms, thinking he had finally gotten to her. That showed her!

Suddenly, Shiemi raised her face and seemed to have her face puffed out, much to Amaimon's disliking. She looked so weird like that, he thought, like some ugly demon baby. It didn't last for long however.

"HehehehehahahahahahHAHAHA!"

Amaimon stared worriedly at Shiemi as she doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach. At first, he thought he had broken her, but then he slowly grew angry again. He began to wonder if she was laughing at him. If she was, how dare she?!

"Hey! What are you laughing at?" he yelled, trying to get her attention, but it failed with her laughing so loudly. "Excuse me! I'm speaking to you! Don't laugh at me!"

"I-i'm sorry-i just…."she giggled, and wiped her tears. "W-we sound like your twin brothers from the story!"

He grew silent and watched as Shiemi bursts into little giggles again. _She was odd,_ he thought. It was a good odd, however. Although he was astonished she wasn't afraid of him, he liked it. For once a human wasn't scared of him, and it was relieving.

Slowly, he smiled and laid back down on the grass. "Yes, I suppose we do."

It took a while, but soon, Shiemi calmed herself and sighed. "I apologize for that. That was rude to do to a guest."

Amaimon snorted. "I'm surprised you even consider me as a guest seeing how I blackmailed you."

"Oh it's fine. I'm actually having...uh...fun.."she mumbled to herself. She seemed to flush and shook her head, scratching the back of her head. "I haven't told my story yet, if you still wanna hear it."

"No, that's fine."Amaimon replied, waving it off. He looked at the sky from his laid-down position, running his fingerless-gloved hands through the grass. It was so soft…"Tell me more about your garden."

"O-oh….that's kind of a touchy subject..but I suppose I could spare some details."she said. Amaimon felt his hand flex. _Spare some details?_

Shiemi gave a sigh, and Amaimon looked at her, confused. He felt something sad was about to burst from her mouth.

"It was my grandmother's you see...she died one day, and it's mine now. We both dreamed of seeing the garden of Amahara. It was her wish to see it before she died...I think that's where she is now." Shiemi's eyes seemed to sparkle. But then, She looked sadly at the ground. "Or, at least I hope she is….I know she must be in a better place, and that place must be the garden."

Amaimon stared at her for a minute or two, trying not to be rude or anything about her diseased family member. He knew how fragile humans were with their emotions for others. But, he still couldn't help it. What a silly thought Shiemi had, thinking her grandmother was at his garden. That was preposterous! As if he'd ever let a human stay. Amaimon wore a grim expression. Shiemi needed to know the truth.

"She isn't there."

Shiemi glared at him. "What?"

Amaimon sighed, and tried to explain more rationally this time."She isn't there because i've seen it. No human has ever seen the garden. I know, because the garden is mine."

"W-wha..?"Shiemi staggered to her feet, and pointed at him. Amaimon just narrowed his eyes at this rude gesture. "Y-you? No way, you're the _earth king!_ That means you control rocks and minerals and stuff, not nature!"

Without a word, Amaimon stood. Ha, minerals and rocks? That's what she thought... He took a deep breath of air and slowly trudged to a flower bed. Shiemi took a step back to let him pass, and widened her eyes.

"What are you-"she started.

Amaimon turned to look at her, quickly silencing the human before him. He almost grinned. _Watch this,_ he thought.

The earth king silently turned back to the flowers and huffed, wanting them to die. Obeying his order, the flowers slowly began to wither and die, until they were nothing but black, dry stems. Amaimon quickly turned to another batch of flowers, and flicked his hand downwards,wishing for those flowers to die as well. Shiemi watched as the whole other batch of flowers fell in a droop just like their other companions, and she couldn't help but squeal in terror. But, just as it started, it ended, and the flowers grew alive and happy again at Amaimon's will. The demon turned to look at Shiemi again.

"Do you believe me now?"he asked. Shiemi gave a slow nod, and sat back down on the grass, shaking her head in thought. "B-but how did you make- I...you…"

Amaimon stalked to her and sat beside Shiemi, moving to bite his nails again. "As you know, my brothers used to beat me up. I made the garden of Amahara to escape from it long ago. I took an extension of my soul and slowly placed flowers in it. Over time, the garden grew until I had a full grown paradise." he explained slowly, watching her expressions change from a surprised one, to an astonished one. He then remembered her grandmother.

"I could...show you it if you want."he offered dully to her. Shiemi whipped her head to him, gasping loudly. It was then and there when he decided liked Shiemi, no, he _really_ liked Shiemi. She didn't seem afraid of him at all and was sweet and kind. It was the first time he ever met someone who was willingly nice to him….and this seemed to nag at him. What was wrong with her? He didn't understand why she was so unafraid. He was a demon! Not just any demon either, the Earth king who kidnapped her and put a parasite into her neck! But after all this, she still wasn't afraid, and he didn't like it at all. He hated not understanding. He hated not understanding how Shiemi worked.

"R-really?"Shiemi breathed, looking at him with wide eyes. Amaimon noted how her eyes reminded him of the green from the leaves of a cherry tree.

The earth king slowly nodded again. This was it. He just have an offer he couldn't take back. But he didn't ask for anything in return. Why was that? What could he ask of Shiemi in return for seeing his garden? Surely he wouldn't just let her see it for no reason, that wasn't the demon thing to do at all! He couldn't let her think he did it for pity or something like that...then, it hit him.

"I'll let you see it.."Amaimon said again. "Only if you become my ally."

Shiemi stared at him in thought. "A-an ally? Like a friend or something?"

Amaimon nodded. "Yes, that could be a synonym too. I won't let you see my garden otherwise."

The blonde frowned for a moment, but then smiled. "Oh, I see! You want me to become your friend so I can see the garden! I can't be a normal human to you, because no other human has seen the garden. But if I was your friend, then I would be an exception…...something like that, right?"

"Yes, precisely." Amaimon agreed, and stuck out his hand, resisting to bite his nails. "So, we have a bargain?"

Shiemi wasted no time in reaching her arm out and shaking his hand with joy. Amaimon could suddenly felt a warmth spread through his body at her touch, and he grew confused. What on earth was this feeling?

"Sure, your majesty, it's a deal!"

Amaimon felt his cruel heart skip a beat.

He had a friend.

* * *

He could tell his brother was furious the minute he walked into the room. The tension in the room caused Amaimon to stop and stand at the door, uncertain of whether to keep walking or not. Mephisto's eyes just followed him as he stood awkwardly and suddenly, Amaimon found that he forgot how to breathe.

His brother was terrifying when he was angry. He just got this look on his face that was calm, but ferious at the same time and all it did was add to Amaimon's fear. He knew his brother was much higher ranked than him, and maybe that's why he was so afraid, but it didn't matter if he was a low classed demon or not; He still preferred the fun and goofy principal than the angry demon Mephisto.

"Amaimon, come here." His voice was incisive.

Amaimon found his feet moving to their own accord, slowly, very slowly, to his brother. He stopped in front of Mephisto, and he couldn't build up courage to look his brother in the eye. So, he stared at the floor in silence, as Mephisto's narrowed glare bore into his head.

Amaimon almost jumped when his brother spoke.

"So, I heard you fought with someone today. Is this true?"

"Yes brother."he said in a quiet tone.

"And I heard it was between Rin and his classmates. You gave them quite some injuries. Is this true as well?"

"Yes brother."

"I ordered you not to fight them did I not?"

"Yes brother."

"And you do know you're punished?"

"...yes brother."

 _THWUACK!_

Amaimon felt his cheek numb as Mephisto turned to look out the window.

"An unworthy excuse for a brother indeed. You just can't follow simple instructions, can you brother? After all my diligent planning, you go and do this! Hm...I wonder what your punishment will be..?"

And then, Amaimon's fist shook. It was all their fault! Stupid Rin and his classmates! Because of him, he was getting punished! What about them? They were the ones who attacked first!

"It wasn't my fault, they-"

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THEM!" Mephisto bellowed. Amaimon flinched, taken aback. His brother seemed to calm instantly and rubbed his temples with a sigh. He spoke again, but much in a quieter tone. "You weren't supposed to fight them...You left damange all over the city and everything was turnt over! You left a mess! I just….why can't you do things right?"

His heart sank. He disappointed his brother. This really _was_ his fault. His brother clearly always said _'Don't fight them',_ and he did so anyways, showing how inept he truly was. All he had to do was follow simple instructions! He was a disgrace.

"Maybe I should just burn down that garden of yours to teach you a lesson."

"Brother no-!"he yelled out before he could stop himself. Amaimon quickly pursed his lips and looked at the floor. He could feel his brother's eyes narrow.

"Excuse me? I don't think you're in position any order to give orders, little brother." Mephisto spat, and then he became silent. Eerily silent.

Then, a laugh came.

"What defiance! Dear Amaimon, I won't burn down your garden! Why on Earth would I destroy that wonderland? I'll just put you in the rift. You haven't went against me in a long while. I do understand why you fought them; Rin can be quite frustrating."

Amaimon looked up, surprised. "Really brother?"

"Yes, yes."

Amaimon gave a look of relief, but before he could give his thanks, a hand blurred out and gripped onto his throat. He felt his air flow being cut off, and he gave a desperate gulp when his brother's hand clenched tighter. Amaimon's heart pounded in his chest as he was brought up to Mephisto's eerily calm face.

"Just know that if you ever do this again, I will personally see fit that you never walk again."he whispered into his ear, and Amaimon visibly shivered. He attempted to nod, but it was quite hard to do his position. However, Mephisto seemed to notice this and laughed again, letting him go. "Very well! I'll see you in some days!"

A snap came.

Then, he was gone.

* * *

There was no up.

There was no down.

There wasn't a left or right or a floor or a ceiling or walls or doors.

There wasn't blackness or whiteness; there wasn't shadows and there wasn't anything.

There was nothing in this cell room.

It seemed he was stuck in space, but that couldn't be right, because how can there be space if there was nothing? Nothing meant nothing, and even though space is a void of nothingness, it still wasn't where he was. No, it wasn't space. It was nothingness, and only nothingness. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.

But, Amaimon did know where he was; he was located deep in Mephisto's heart.

As the King of time and space, Mephisto had influence on certain aspects of time, and well, space. He didn't fully well understand Mephisto's power himself, even though it had been explained a million times. He just couldn't grasp what he meant, it was all so complicated.

His brother called this place the rift. It was true, everything was empty and quiet, but Amaimon couldn't seem to think clearly. Voices spoke to him, and yet they didn't speak to him. He was going insane, and yet he was going sane. He calm and yet he was wild.

The Rift was his literal hell hole.

Amaimon originally made the Amahara with his soul. It wasn't as hard as it sounded, really. . .The demon just took a wisp from his soul and extended it into another dimension; a rift. At first, Amahara was a void of nothingness just like the rift, but then Amaimon added his thoughts. He added plants and everything he could ever want, and soon, Amahara became his paradise.

He guessed this was what the rift was. Maybe the rift was an extension of Mephisto's soul that was not yet tampered with? It was the best theory he could think of.

His brother was always filled with secrets, and they were always complicated. It was never "just this". It was always "just this" is connected to "just that" which does "just what?" and creates a series of _"just insanity."_ He knew The Rift was more than "just this" though, but then again, Amaimon didn't really give a crap.

And maybe that's why Mephisto was crowned the Lord of time and space and he wasn't. Because it seemed while Mephisto cared too much, he just didn't. Mephisto cared for Assiah so deeply, that he even created his own little complicated plans, motives, goals and whatnot for it. He was based on conundrums and detail. Meanwhile, Amaimon was simple and straight, for he didn't need goals or anything like complicated motives. He didn't know how to do so.

He didn't fill his life with finding mates and partying like most of his cousins did. Amaimon just wasn't very social and he certainly didn't want to have sex with some random succubus just outside his door. So he stayed alone in his kingdom, not contacting anyone.

That's why he was so eager to help with Mephisto's plan of playing with Rin. It wasn't like he had anything better to do and honestly, he was rotting in Gehenna. It was literally so damn _boring_. Maybe he would have more fun and entertainment if he knew how to spend his time, but he didn't, and he really didn't care at all; he wish he did deep down though. He had cared when he was younger, when he had his passion...but that was a millennia ago.

He remembered Mephisto limping into their shared home in Gehenna, with bruises all over him from an obvious beating. It wasn't hard to guess who did this to him.

 _Father._

Every breath was a struggle for his brother, his ribs were visible and sticking out of his chest. Amaimon couldn't remember the other details, but my, it was bloody.

"Brother!" he had gasped, and ran over Mephisto to help him sit somewhere or something. He was surprised, however, when he was pushed away.

"Let go of me! I don't need your help!" he spat, only to cough violently. Amaimon raised an eyebrow and went to help his weak brother into the bed, despite his protest. At first, Mephisto struggled and gave out incoherent yells, but after a while, he calmed down enough to lay still in the bed. He feel into a deep sleep once he calmed and Amaimon was worried he died, but was quickly relieved when he saw his chest was moving. With herbs and medicine from his collection, he nursed his brother back to health. White skin turned back into it's creamy color, and the bags under his eyes went away. His brother was okay.

Maybe to others this is how it seemed, but Amaimon knew his brother was emotionally distressed. He had gotten quieter and had isolated him from the world. The Earth King just knew he was suffering, and he felt such empathy towards his brother. So finally, Amaimon spoke up.

"Brother, you shouldn't mope around so much. You know challenging father to leave Gehenna was foolish. He is stronger than us all; what were you hoping to accomplish? Because whatever it was, it was surely was stupid. You could never overpower him, and now that you tried and failed, our brothers are starting to say things about you; they say you have become weak." he mumbled during dinner, and it was indeed true. With Mephisto being isolated, their brothers started to send around gossip, and Amaimon had been one of them to hear. He thought his brother might have wanted to know, so why not add that in?

The reaction he had gotten was not what he had expected.

Mephisto could only raised his head slowly and glared at him through his bluish-black bangs and Amaimon felt himself shrink at this cold look.

"Leave."

"What? I just-"

A plate was thrown at the wall, and Amaimon could only blink in terrified surprise as it was shattered to pieces all over the velvet floor.

"LEAVE MY PRESENCE AMAIMON!" he screamed. Amaimon was so confused. He didn't understand why his brother was so upset, but something in him just snapped and it made him angry.

Amaimon stood up from his seat, throwing back his chair as his fist shook. "What is wrong with you? You are so ungrateful! I nursed you back to health, and I have put up with your shit! I don't get why you're so…so...AWFUL!"

Suddenly, he felt a sudden pain at his head and it took two seconds for him to realize that Mephisto had thrown his wine bottle at Amaimon. Slowly, he wiped the liquid and glass shards off of his face, ignoring the pain he felt both on his skin and in his heart.

"You nursed me back to health? Don't make me laugh!"

"It's true! I helped you! You would have _died!_ "

"I'M A DEMON!" Mephisto laughed crazily with anger and astonishment. **"I CAN'T DIE!"**

"W-well..." Amaimon averted his eyes, and fritted his teeth. "I WAS WORRIED! I thought you would die, and I didn't want you to! You're all I have brother! Please!"

A silence fell upon the room, and Amaimon just panted heavily. He couldn't even think...

Finally, Mephisto spoke. "

Leave me now Amaimon, before I fucking kill you now."

"You wouldn't dare."

It was a stupid thing to say, he knew, but at this point he couldn't control it. Never had his brother raised his hand to him, or hurt him. It was always his elder brothers, but never Mephisto. Big brother would never hurt him!

Oh, how wrong he was.

In five minutes, Amaimon had ended up bruised on the ground, groaning in pure pain.

"Brother…"he moaned shakingly. Mephisto gleamed over him, his eyes glowing dangerously. He pressed a foot onto Amaimon's stomach, earning a painful groan in return.

"Remember who is your superior here. You might be my little brother, but you are a lower class demon who lives only to serve me! Now get from my presence!"

He ran from that room faster than he ever ran before.

Amaimon didn't have sleep that night, nor did he with any of the other nights after. He didn't understand why his brother was so upset. What was wrong…? Never had Mephisto been so visibly distressed before, and he never gave Amaimon any sort of abuse before that night. He knew his brother couldn't leave their home, but it was no reason for such a tantrum...

Then, he realized what his problem was.

Mephisto couldn't leave Gehenna, and he knew his brother knew this. He must have been so angered by the fact that he couldn't leave, and it must have made him want to leave even more. Amaimon could understand this, but why did he want to go to Assiah so badly? What were his plans? Amaimon didn't know, but he decided, he would try everything in his power to give this to his brother. He wanted his brother happy.

So he threw away his passion, and gave it to Mephisto.

It was done silently, but it did the job. Weeks after Mephisto had his "episode", Amaimon had snuck into the libraries of Gehenna that belonged to his father. He scanned the whole library, until finally he found something that seemed to have exactly what he needed. Quickly, but silently, he took a box of scrolls in his arms and returned to his room. He read each spell carefully, studying and making his own enchantment with different herbs and plants.

Once done, he entered Mephisto's room one night and began to recite the spell he had made above his sleeping brother.

Slowly, his heart began to glow, and it was so bright from inside his chest, that you could actually see the silhouette of the beating organ inside him. Red wisps came from his heart and twirled around himself in baurtiful patterns and designs/ Amaimon could rememebr feeling rage, hatred, love, and jealousy burning hard in himself as his passion was sent straight into Mephisto through the wisps. Pain had scorched throughout his whole body and both his heart and head pounded with death worthy pain that made him want to cry. He slowly found his body growing severely weak and Amaimon had to limp back into his own room before Mephisto awoke and yelled at him.

Amaimon tiredly settled himself in his bed after that and stared at the ceiling with a strange emptiness inside them. He sighed.

It was done.

The day after, Mephisto awoke with a smile on his face and Amaimon could tell he had a plan.

In the series of one year, Mephisto had finally figured out a way to leave Gehenna, and with a final goodbye from his brother, he scurried off to the new world.

Amaimon didn't know how Mephisto fared in Assiah. No contact was made between the two and Amaimon didn't know if Mephisto was dead, or a slave, or even ruling the place! Though, he really doubted that. If something big happened in Assiah, he would have known about it, being the King of Earth and 7th in the royal bloodline.

Without his brother around, his other siblings began to pick on him and even went to the extent of beating him up, but he took it well. It was common in Gehenna for lower classed demons to be abused and toyed by the higher classed.

A couple millennia passed, and Amaimon became the big, callous demon that every knew and hated. He grew bags under his eyes, and his nails became the length of a small garden snake. He was apathetic to everything and if his subjects were scared or bothered by this change, they didn't say anything. He noticed that they all seem to fear and respect him than before. Amaimon could understand this. With a new change in personality, came new hobbies, and he began to train more frequently, making him increasingly strong in the earth element. Remember all the awful earthquakes that occurred?

Yeah, Amaimon caused them.

Right after the earthquake he had caused in Chille, Amaimon received a letter from his brother. It was very long, but certainly explained the necessary details of how he fared in Assiah and that he wished for Amaimon to visit. Of course, he agreed and with a couple of spells, he went to see his brother.

It was a short greeting, cut short only from Mephisto's exclaims upon seeing his brother's new state. Amaimon wondered if Mephisto blamed himself at all for all the new changes. Surely his brother noticed how colder and calmer he was. But just like his subjects, his brother didn't say anything.

Mephisto soon found new clothes for Amaimon to wear, and toured him around the school he had created over the years. It was a surprise to find his brother a principal of a school; He never imagined it really. He fit in just well with the humans, and lived among them happily like it was some fairy tale. Amaimon couldn't help but feel confused.

The first days with his brother was certainly fun. He played videos games, watched anime and read manga. Soon, days turned into weeks, then months, then years and Amaimon found himself enjoying being back with his brother. For the first time in forever, he felt an emotion he thought he would never feel again. Joy.

But then, Mephisto brought up Rin. That's when he realized his brother was just using him. All this time, the bonding and the fun was just so he could lure him into his trap. Smart move brother, smart move.

But with years of bonding, Mephisto didn't really need to coerce him into doing anything, because Amaimon still wanted to appease his brother, just like he did in Gehenna. He grew accustomed to being used, so it was okay with his brother using him as a toy or beating him. He could certainly acquiesce to his brothers demands, and he would be happy doing it. As long as he wasn't bored, he was fine.

And as Amaimon sat back in nothingness, he smiled.

It was funny how a simple thing such as passion could ruin your entire existence.

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Mephisto asked when Amaimon came out of the rift. Currently his brother was working on a paper, and didn't even bother to look up to greet him. It bothered him a bit to see his brother acting as if his punishment was nothing, because really his punishment was hell. Being stuck in your own thoughts for too long could bring you to the edge of insanity, and you seemed to question your own self and what was real. It drove Amaimon up the wall, but it seemed like Mephisto didn't seem to concern himself with his brother's mental health. If this was the case, then why should Amaimon burden him with it? He saw no need to tell his brother the truth. So, Amaimon stretched and replied with the same tone he always used.

"It felt the same as being in Gehenna, only there was nothing to look at and I had no bed."

Mephisto put down his pen and looked up at him, leaning back in his rolly-chair, motioning his brother to sit. "Well then, did you think about your actions?"

"No brother."

Mephisto made a 'tsk' noise with his mouth. "Shame, I expected you to at least go over your absurd behavior. You were in there for a month and two days you know."

Amaimon tilted his head and bit his thumb nail. Had it really been one month and two days? It felt like five minutes, or was it a year? He just didn't remember. Damn it, the rift was way too confusing for him. "I didn't know that, I can't really tell time in the rift. Everything is just nothingness brother. I thought you knew that."

Mephisto went silent after that and eyed Amaimon, and he could practically see his brother's head turning in thought. He couldn't help but wonder what his brother was thinking. The other was always full of mysteries.

After a while, Mephisto sat back up and looked in his drawer, throwing a bag of candy over to Amaimon, who caught it with ease. The Earth King flickered his eyes from the bag to his brother, who waved his hand, silently allowing him to eat a sweet. Slowly, he looked down, rummaging through the bag to find his favorite candy, the sour apple lollipop. It took ten seconds at most, but when he did find it, he popped the sweet into his mouth and ran over it with his tongue, enjoying the flavor of it. He could literally die for these human treats.

Mephisto moved forward and laid his head on his palm, sighed. "I just thought with that much time you would go over your actions."

Amaimon scoffed,"Like a student?"

"Yes...like a student…"

And after that, Amaimon left.

* * *

The barrier was on.

Amaimon wasn't very surprised though, but it was odd. All the other times he visited, it wasn't on. Why all the sudden change? Amaimon was certainly confused, but he just decided that Shiemi wasn't home, and sat near the gate entrance, sucking on some candy. He thought over his big brother's answer.

He remembered Mephisto saying that they needed to find something in common. Amaimon frowned. Did that mean he needed to find something in common that they both had by himself, or did he go over it with Shiemi? He really wanted to go back and ask his brother, but he remembered Mephisto's warning about the teachers. By now, school must have started. That meant Shiemi must have been there too.

It was fine, however. This meant for time for him to think.

So the earth king sat still and began to brainstorm.

.

.

.

Nothing came.

Amaimon sighed. This wasn't going well. He couldn't do anything without Shiemi around. It was awful. He couldn't bond with her like this! Maybe he should go find that gift like big brother suggested. It was the only thing he could do without Shiemi.

So, Amaimon stood and went to town. It took no more than an hour, and by the time he arrived, he could already sense the happiness in the air from people. He didn't know if he liked it or not, so he ignored it and strode into a store.

Finding Shiemi a gift was hard, especially when they barely had bonded. He was saddened to figure out how little he knew about her. He didn't know what the girl liked or wanted, or anything at all for that matter. This was harder than he originally thought.

Maybe Shiemi liked candy? Everybody liked candy, right? That would be a good gift….unless Shiemi was one of those odd humans that didn't like sweets.

Amaimon frowned. He shouldn't get those. But what if she did like them? What if she expected candy? He didn't want to embarrass himself and get the wrong gift at all...Maybe he could he get her multiple gifts. But what if that seemed too much? Personally, he thought it was smart. If there is one gift she didn't like, then she always had more to cheer her up instead.

Argh, but what if that wasn't tradition or something?

He was so confused.

"Sir?"

On his right stood a young lady, seeming around her mid-twenties. Amaimon wanted to tell her to go away, and that he was in the middle of thinking, but he then scanned over her and noticed how she wore the logo of the store on her shirt; she must have been an employee. Her name tag read _AKUMANA._

Akumana gave a small smile. "Do you need assistance?"

The earth king stared at her, nodding slowly. He figured that this was the lady's job, which was to help people. If that was it, then he would take this to his advantage. "I need to find something to get my friend, but I don't know what she likes."

"A she?" Akumana grinned. "Well, sweets would be nice. And flowers. Maybe some food? Sweets and candy would be in aisle 3, a flower shop would be across the street and there's a fast food restaurant not far from here. Do you know what she likes to do?"

Amaimon stopped himself from shaking his head and thought over her question. He looked back in his memory, and suddenly, he remembered her illustration he had taken. "She seems to enjoy illustrating landscapes."

With a nod, Akumana turned to another aisle, and pointed to it. "Aisle 7, drawing supplies. I could help you pick out some gifts, if you'd like. Since your getting things for a girl, maybe my womanly touch could help you?"

Amaimon agreed, thinking this was a good idea. Akumana gave a victorious smile and led him to the illustration supplies aisle, her cheeks seeming to turn into a gentle hue of pink, but he ignored it. Amaimon followed her lead, and gave himself a silent pat on the back.

He would totally bond with Shiemi.

* * *

"We can't be friends anymore."

It had come so suddenly and so quickly. It would have almost caught him off guard, but luckily for him, he had been expecting it. But even if he knew it was coming, he didn't expect Shiemi to say it so quickly. How had Shiemi made up her mind? It was only a week after their friendship anyways.

Amaimon looked up from his thoughts and asked a dull, "What?"

"I said we can't be friends anymore." Shiemi whispered again, looking at him with emotionless eyes. Amaimon couldn't help but get bothered by this. She reminded him of his brother. He couldn't tell what she was thinking and it hurt. What happened? he thought everything was fine. He had gotten her gifts like his brother suggested, and she took them. Was something wrong with the gifts? Did he get the wrong thing? What happened? He was so confused.

And _upset._

"I thought we were doing fine as friends..."he muttered under his breath. Shiemi caught that and crossed her arms.

"We were, but then I realized I can't be friends with a demon like you. You ate my chocolate! Who does that? You know none of my real friends would do that, so I guess it means you don't care about me."

Amaimon winced. The chocolate... Shiemi continued.

"We can't be friends or allies, sorry Amaimon. You go, filthy chocolate eater." Shiemi paused at looked at the floor, her bangs falling over her eyes gently. "Leave, and never come back."

"But I-"Amaimon started. He then silenced himself. No, she was right. He ate her gifts, and didn't even accept the apology! How could a demon and human ever be friends?

 _How could I have been so stupid to think we could ever be friends?_

* * *

Amaimon woke to the sound of Shiemi's voice.

"Amaimon!"

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Amaimon!" Shiemi yelled. The demon looked at the individual before him.

Shiemi seemed to calm at seeing Amaimon's pupils, and pulled back, offering a smile, a smile that Amaimon never received before. It made his heart clench painfully, and even more so when he still felt the taste of chocolate in his mouth.

"I was wondering why you were sleeping…"Shiemi rambled. "I just came home from school and here you were sleeping. At first I thought you died or something, but then I saw you breathing and I was like "oh phew" and went to wake you. Not to be rude but why are you here anyways?"

At that question, his eyes snapped up at Shiemi, and then to the reason he was here in the first place. Slowly, Amaimon pulled out the bag and handed it over to Shiemi's delicate fingers.

"A gift."Amaimon told her. Shiemi blinked. He pressed on. "For you."

An embarrassed smile seemed to creep onto Shiemi's face, and Amaimon observed as she peeked into the bag hesitantly, seeing what contents awaited her inside the bag. After a bit of prodding, Shiemi looked up, and instead of seeing some sort of content smile, he saw a confused look. Amaimon wondered if he had done something wrong. Was it not to her liking? Maybe she realized the chocolate was missing..

"W-why?" The female exorcist finally seemed to ask, the pink hue on her face seemed to grow. Amaimon only shrugged.

"I heard that humans bond through friendships with gifts."

He didn't dare mention his brother. Amaimon might have not been the smartest demon on the planet, but he did understand a few simple things. He knew that if Shiemi were to find out Mephisto was related to him, everything would change. What changes exactly? He didn't know, but he didn't want to find out either.

The blonde grinned and stood up, hugging the bag close to her.

"Thank you." she said, bowing her head a bit in gratitude. Amaimon nodded, and stood up himself.

Shiemi entered the gate and Amaimon waited, looking at the chocolate box and writing next to it. Shiemi hadn't seen it. Did that mean he was fine? As much as Amaimon wanted to be, he couldn't help but feel bad. He wanted Shiemi to forgive him herself. He didn't want to sneak things from her. Shiemi was nice and kind to him. She didn't deserve things being snuck from her, or lies, or anything of the sort. Maybe Amaimon should just tell her?

"Amaimon?"

His mouth suddenly dried at hearing Shiemi's voice and he turned slightly to spot her waiting outside the gate for him. Shiemi must have turned off the barrier, he thought grimly. Amaimon opened his mouth to reply to Shiemi, but found his voice was lost somewhere in throat. He furrowed his eyebrows. What…?

Shiemi stepped forward.

"Are you okay?"

Amaimon shrugged. The blonde pursed her lips.

"Why aren't you coming in?"

He shrugged again, and Shiemi stepped towards him again. Amaimon was mentally startled at this, and looked away from her, avoiding her eyes. He didn't want to see what she was feeling.

"What's wrong?" Shiemi questioned again, this time in a more comforting voice, and Amaimon couldn't help but dig his fingers into his palm to keep himself from biting his nails.

What was wrong with him? Eating her chocolate shouldn't be this big of a deal, right? If it wasn't, why was he feeling so negative? He didn't like whatever was going through his system, and even though he knew Shiemi didn't care, he couldn't help but feel like she was upset at him. He knew Shiemi cared, but Amaimon couldn't find what to say. He had to answer with something though, and he didn't want to anger her. So, Amaimon just pursed his lips, and said whatever was at the back of his mind.

"I ate your chocolate.." He replied, and at seeing her confused face, he continued. "They were included in your gift, but while I waited for you to return, I ate them and I feel negative about doing so and I don't know why."

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder. Then another one. Amaimon looked up to meet Shiemi's green eyes.

"You feel guilty." Shiemi explained, and gave a small chuckle, putting a hand on her own cheek. "It's okay Amaimon, I forgive you."

At those words, Amaimon felt himself relax and he nodded, running his fingers through his green hair, and sighing silently. What an idiot he was. He was worried over nothing!

"Let's go back inside, okay?"

Shiemi turned around, and entered the gate, with Amaimon nodding. As he followed her back, he spotted the chocolate box on the floor next to the writing. It was silly for him to assume Shiemi would be upset for such a silly thing. It showed how ignorant he really was. Shiemi most likely viewed him as a fool now, and it was all the box's fault! He stopped for a moment and pursed his lips.

He kicked it to the side. Then, Amaimon turned and followed Shiemi to the garden. The blonde was seated on the grass, patting her skirt and Amaimon decided to sit next to her. Then, they talked.

They began talking about simple things first. Like their favorite colors, animals, foods, and whatnot. Shiemi tended to ask meaningless questions, such as ones about his past. Amaimon answered nonetheless, but gave half answers each time. He wasn't completely comfortable with spilling all of his memories to Shiemi yet, even though the other was more than willing to listen.

The female tended to ask a lot questions about his history and childhood, though Amaimon wasn't truly sure why. He felt like she wanted to uncover some deep secret within him, but sadly for her, there really wasn't one. Amaimon knew he wasn't really considered an "open book", but it didn't mean he had anything to hide. He wasn't keeping anything from anyone. He only replied to the questions asked.

And luckily for him, Shiemi never asked difficult questions. Maybe one day she would. Maybe one day she would start asking about his personal life and then turn on him.

"Tell me all your brother's names." she might ask or "How come you're always so cold?"

Maybe she would accuse him of things. She might yell at him, "You lied to me! You aren't my friend!"

Amaimon could only guess he would reply with a simple "Okay", and then she could tell her friends about him, and get him attacked. After that, maybe his brother would find out about his friendship and punish him.

"I expected more from you."he would say, then send him off to the rift. And he would spend a thousand years in nothingness as Shiemi withered away like humans tended to do after 80 years.

Maybe this friendship thing wasn't a good idea. Maybe it wasn't a good decision to let a human like Shiemi into his life so easily. He knew it wasn't the best choice, but despite this, he couldn't ignore the fact that he was happy.

"You're being selfish." his younger self would say. "Your selfishness will lead to consequences."

But eh, fuck everyone and fuck his younger self. He was happy and that's all he cared about. For once he was satisfied and he was not letting that go. Not until hell boiled over and Shiemi told him to his face that she didn't want to be friends.

Until then, he waited.

* * *

 **IM DONE I THINK YAYYYYYYY**

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